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 Jake's Clever Banter Is anyone still out there? The messageboards seem more deserted than usual, and now that we've actually got a few regular comics, I'm wondering what kinda' damage the drought did. Hrm... Well, anyone want a Panzer Dragoon Orta pin from E3? I got a ton of 'em! It's actually pretty funny- there are people on eBay at this very moment trying to unload their E3 swag. The auction for a Wavebird's gone up to $80, and one guy's selling the miscellaneous free stuff for $25. All in all, I unfortunately missed out on some of the stuff that others got (I REALLY would have liked a Wavebird), but got some stuff that others didn't (I'm the only person I know that got one of those Goemon dolls), so in the end, I guess it works out. And I wasn't kidding about those PDO pins. Send me an E-Mail and I'll give ya' one. I've said that I'm not gonna' go over everything at E3, but I'll at least make an attempt to talk about the more notable stuff. For starters, I ended up with the opinion that two games tied for playable game of show (At least as far as non-press goes)- Metroid Prime and Tom Clancy's Splinter Cel. Now, I've talked about Metroid Prime in the forum, but I haven't talked about Splinter Cel, so I'll do that now. For starters, Splinter Cel shares prettymuch nothing in common with the Rainbow Six series. It has Tom Clancy's name on the front, and the weapons and environments are very true-life realistic, but that's about it. The game is actually a lot like the Metal Gear Solid series. Emphasis on stealth, tons of gadgets, and incredible attention to detail. The graphics in this game are simply amazing, and it's truly one of the first games to really take advantage of the XBox's hardware (Although it'll also be coming to the PC, probably the PS2, and maybe even the Gamecube). Spider webs and curtains react realistically to your contact with them, and one of the game's testers showed me how shooting a fish tank caused a stream of water to shoot out, and the water level to lower. Gameplay-wise, it's also a lot like MGS, only you do have a better chance of fighting it out if you're discovered. That was really the one true failing of the game as far as I saw- the enemies seemed incredibly inept, and firefights incredibly easy. But I'm under the impression that this will change before it's released. Oh, and one other thing- the game has night-vision and heat-vision modes that are an absolutely incredible must-see-to-believe kinda' thing. There were also a few other games there that seemed to have gotten far less attention than they should have. War of the Monsters, for example. Gamespot described it as "3D Rampage done right" and I think that's a perfect description. Large sections of city completely destroyable, cars and buses you can pick up and throw at the other monsters, and a great selection of monsters you can play that encompases every classes movie monster type- You have your giant ape, giant lizard, giant flying praying mantis, giant Voltron-esque robot... And the game is destined to be remembered as a hillariously fun party game. All the more pity you need to get a multitap for the PS2, but in the end it's a small price to pay for something as fun as this was. Oh, and a lot of people have noted about it, and I want to tell you, it's all true- E3 turns normally sane people into frothing kleptomaniacs. It doesn't help that every booth at the show seems to be giving away something cool, and over the three days being at the show, it forces you to develop the mentality "I need to carefully observe this booth to see what's meant to be pocketted." I personally didn't actually steal anything, but came very close sense booths like the ones for Magic the Gathering Online (Which is looking very good, by the way), Pelican accessories and Prima all had tons of actual product littering their booths that weren't actually meant to be taken by show-goers (Dozens of Magic Starter decks, videogame controllers and game hint guides, respectively). It's a pity then, that some are so trusting. As common as it is to see prototypes at E3, usually companies don't have things integral to game creation on display. Unfortunately, Sega's little figurines for Phantasy Star Card Battle were probably easily mistaken for E3 swag, and now Sega's in a very bad position, as these apparently very-important-for-the-game's-development figures are no doubt at this very moment resting in a bag alongside a dozen T-Shirts, Shinobi shurikens and Panzer Dragoon Orta pins. Huh? Who are you looking at!? No, I DIDN'T steal them! Grumble grumble.. 5/27/02 - So... tired... New strips all this week, and a very tired Jake. If anyone wants to know anything more about anything specific at E3, don't hesitate to ask on the messageboards, but I've come to the realization that there was far too much there to summarize. Meantime, I think I'll fall asleep. |
 Tim's Clever Banter Wow. Can you believe it? A whole week of NEW Mognet comics. I mean... wow. That's just an amazing feat. An amazing feat of JUSTICE. But, please, don't everyone thank me at once. Afterall, I have Jake and his Gom and his E3 antics to help me buy time! Wait a second! E3!! E3?! MAN!!!! This year's E3 kicked so much ass. In fact, it kicked MY ASS! I've got the mark to prove it! OUCH! It hurts! Not only do we get FANTASTIC remakes of already FANTASTIC games like Metal Gear Solid 2, A Link to the Past, and Yoshi's Island but we've got sequels to Zone of the Enders, Devil May Cry, Super Metroid, and... ohh.. Sometimes I excite even myself. Case in point, I recently took a gander at the E3 trailer of Zone of the Enders: The Second Runner. Now, we all know how the first game turned out. A mildly entertaining game so long as you ignored the storyline, the voice acting, and the fact that it lasted about two hours long. The gameplay was there, but there wasn't really any focus. The trailer for this new sequel gives me new hope. Not only are the graphics lightyears ahead of the original, using cel-shading and other cool texturing methods, but the already awesome gameplay looks to be... awesomer. Lightning fast mech battles, enormous explosions, Macross style missiles... Whew. I can't wait already.
Yeah. Well, uh. Poop. Well, nuts to you, cuz I'm not gettin' into it! AHHWAHWHAHWAHWHAHAA!! All I'll say is my social life is getting pretty interesting right now. That doesn't mean, off course, that Mognet will die a slow horrible death. Nay. I'm pretty optomistic about this webcomic's future. All I gotta do is stick with it and everything will be okay. For now, we've got several comics lined up and ready, and as long as I have the time I'll keep on churning out more. Because I know you want them. I have you all in the palm of my manly hands. My MANLY WEBSLINGING HANDS. Speaking of webslinging, I'm sure, by now, most of America has seen Spider-Man. Which is safe to assume that YOU have too. Hopefully, you'd agree that Spider-Man is a SOLID film and is definitely the best movie of the summer so far. Hell, the best movie of the year! And what a year for movies it is. Episode II kicked major ass, even if Hayden Christensen can't act a lick. But how about that Yoda, eh? How ABOUT that YODA?! And of course, we can't forget The Scorpion King, Resident Evil, Panic Room, Death to Smoochy, The Count of Monte Cristo, and Changing Lanes. All solid films. Well, except for maybe The Scorpion King, but c'mon. CATCH THIS! UWAHAHAHAHA!!! Same can be said for video games this year. Anyone pay attention to E3? Holy CRAP. That's all I gotta say for now. HEH! *goes to sleep* |
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